We Learned SO Much Today!!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - Petit Jean State Park

Well, here we are on the last night of our mini-vacation.....hate to pack it all up and head home tomorrow, but we must.

Today was a good day.  Didn't do much; learned how the park got its name; really cool, romantic story.  Won't give you the massive details, but here's a quick synopsis:  Some young French dude named Chavet needed some land, so he asked the King of France if he could sail to Arkansas and check out the land and keep whatever he found.  The King said "Ya, whatever".  Now,dude Chavet was engaged to a beautiful girl from Paris who wanted to go with him to discover Arkansas, but he said, "No, its rugged out there...its no place for a girl".  (Such a male chauvinist!!)......Anyway, his fiance wouldn't take NO for an answer (you go girl!), so she snuck on board as a cabin boy which the other men called Little John or "Petit Jean" in french (didn't know I knew French, did ya?!?!).  When they sailed into Arkansas, the Indians met them at the river and said "Welcome to Arkansas!  What's up, dude?". Well, Chavet thought the Indians were pretty cool so he and his sailors stayed the summer.  Finally, the day came for Chavet, Petit Jean and his sailors to head home to France.  They told their Indian friends "Adios....we'll be back next year to take your land away from you" and boarded their boat.  But Petit Jean was feeling sick and they postponed the trip.  She continued getting sicker and sicker and within a few days, she was near death.  Before dying, she confessed her deception to Chavez and asked to be buried on the mountaintop.  Now her spirit hovers over the mountain named after her which explains the overcast weather we've been having.  THE END.

You know, Chuck and I have never been the "rugged" camper type, preferring instead to have a nice bathroom, microwave, refrigerator with ice maker with us at all times, so of course we had no idea what to do with this shepards rod-looking thing that we found at our campsite.  We kept looking at it, wondering why they would put a plant holder at a campsite.  Then it hit us........its a Pet Holder!!  I love this campground!!


P.S.  No Animals Were Injured in the Writing of this Blog......